With ‘pond scum’ charge, Gomez harshens Senate campaign tone

As Republican Gabriel E. Gomez injected a personal edge into the US Senate race, US Representative Edward J. Markey, the Democrat in the race, stuck to his more reserved front-runner strategy Friday, avoiding the caustic fisticuffs that often overtake campaigns.

After Gomez tagged Markey as “pond scum” Thursday for an online Markey campaign video showing Gomez on-screen at the same time as Osama bin Laden, Markey declined to engage directly, instead arguing that the private equity investor was attempting to distract voters from policy matters.

“I don’t think that the people of Massachusetts want to hear any name-calling,” Markey told reporters. “I think what they want to hear are real proposals that ensure that we get assault weapons off the streets, that we protect Social Security, that we create jobs, that we make sure that Wall Street doesn’t turn into a casino again.”